A COMMUTER who allegedly threw a suspected teenage “fare dodger” off a train has been charged with assault.

Asset manager Alan Pollock is accused of injuring Sam Main, 19, after intervening in a row with a ScotRail conductor.

The
alleged incident, which became an internet hit after being filmed by a
passenger on his mobile phone, happened at Linlithgow station. The
footage, viewed more than two million times on YouTube, appears to show
Mr Main repeatedly being asked to leave the train because he has no
valid ticket.

Mr Main, who is studying surveying at university, protests his innocence and swears at the conductor.

A
fellow passenger, dubbed the “Big Man” then gets up from his seat and
asks if there is a problem, before Mr Main is unceremoniously led off
the train. British Transport Police said last week they had received a
complaint about the incident on board the Edinburgh to Perth service on
December 9.

The now famous ScotRail No Ticket clip was filmed after the argument had halted the train for up to 10 minutes.

Yesterday the force confirmed that Mr Pollock, of Stirling, had been charged with assault.

Mr Main, of Falkirk, has
not been charged but reported to prosecutors for threatening behaviour
and trespass on a railway line, an offence which carries a £1,000 fine.

A spokesman said: “British Transport Police can now
confirm that a 35-year-old man from Stirling and a 19-year-old man from
Falkirk are the subject of a report to the local procurator fiscal in
connection with an incident on board the 9.33pm Edinburgh Waverley to
Perth service, at Linlithgow on Friday, December 9, 2011.”

A Crown Office spokesman said: “The procurator
fiscal at Livingston has received reports concerning two males. The
reports remain under consideration by the procurator fiscal.”

The
now famous ScotRail No Ticket clip was filmed after the argument had
halted the train for up to 10 minutes. Mr Main can be seen protesting
his innocence and swearing at the conductor. The “Big Man” then gets up
from his seat and asks if there is a problem before Mr Main is dragged
off the train.

Another passenger throws out the teenager’s bag, before the “Big Man” is applauded by his fellow passengers.

However,
Mr Main, who claims that he sustained cheek and leg injuries in the
incident, insists he is innocent and says he had been mis-sold a ticket.

His
father Lenny, 43, revealed that his son is a diabetic and feared his
medicine, iPod and university work were still on the train, not
realising that another passenger had thrown off his bag.